E-Service: New Directions in Theory and Practice

The advent of the era of "e-Service," the provision of services over electronic networks like the internet, is one of the dominant business themes of the new millennium. It reflects the fundamental shift in the economy from goods to services and the explosive expansion of information technology. This book provides a collection of different perspectives on e-Service and a unified framework to understand it, even as the business community grapples with the concept. It features contributions from key researchers and practitioners from both the private and public sectors, as well leading scholars from the fields of marketing, information systems, and computer science. They focus on three key areas: the customer-technology interface; e-Service business opportunities and strategies; and public sector e-Service opportunities. The insights they offer will be equally useful to students, scholars, and practitioners. 1: The Era of e-Service; I: The Customer-Technology Interface; 2: Techno-Ready Marketing of e-Services; 3: Self-Service Technologies; 4: Robots and Gunslingers; 5: “In Web We Trust”; 6: e-Service Environment; II: Business Opportunities and Strategies; 7: Smart Versus Dumb Service Strategies; 8: Real-Time Marketing in e-Services; 9: A Survey of Recommendation Systems in Electronic Commerce; 10: The Wireless Rules for e-Service; III: Public-Sector Opportunities; 11: e-Learning; 12: The Customer-Centric Digital Department; 13: Performance Metrics and Successful e-Government Services